Suspect Held in Killing of 2 Oregon Lesbians

AP

Published: December 14, 1995

STOCKTON, Calif., Dec. 13—
Alerted by a telephone tip, the police went to a motel here early today and arrested a man suspected of killing two lesbian activists in Oregon.

The suspect, Robert James Acremant, 27, surrendered without incident. He was jailed pending extradition to Oregon on charges of murdering Roxanne Ellis, 53, and Michelle Abdill, 42, who were found bound, gagged and shot in the back of their pickup truck last week.

In Medford, Ore., where the arrest warrants were issued, Police Chief Ray Shipley refused to discuss the evidence against Mr. Acremant or the motive.

The two women had spoken out against efforts to limit homosexual rights in Oregon, and their slayings sent a shiver of fear through the gay community that it might have been a hate crime.

John Bondurant, Chief Deputy District Attorney in Jackson County, Ore., said the authorities were not ruling out any possible motive for the killings.

But he said, "Nothing in the evidence we have indicates Mr. Acremant knew either of these women were lesbians."